Piglets dying while their mothers look on unable to help, crippled chickens dying on the floor of vast sheds, terrified cows desperate to escape the slaughterhouse and sheep being killed while their young still suckle are just some of the thought-provoking scenes from a new Animal Aid film showing conditions inside British farms and slaughterhouses. The film will be screened on the side of a specially converted ambulance, dubbed the Meat Wagon.

When: Tuesday 31stJuly, noon

Where: Various locations in Bristol, starting at the junction of Queens Road and Park St until 12.30pm

All of the scenes in the film were shot recently at British farms and slaughterhouses, both conventional and ‘higher welfare’ facilities approved by groups like the Soil Association and RSPCA. The aim is to show that cruelty and suffering is inherent in raising and killing animals for meat, eggs and dairy products.

An ambulance was chosen as the vehicle for this film to draw attention to the way animal agriculture is making people and the environment sick, as well as causing immeasurable suffering to animals. Demand for more, and cheaper, meat and dairy has meant animals are turned into production units, with increases in disease and injury as corners are cut to maximise profit. Consuming animal products has also been linked to a host of human diseases, from diabetes to heart disease and various cancers. Methane emissions from animal agriculture, as well as the direct and indirect land use change for growing animal feed and grazing, are major contributors to climate change.

Says Animal Aid’s Tour Manager, Andrew Butler: ‘In order to make informed decisions about what they eat, people need to see the way animals are raised and killed in Britain. There is an assumption that animals live happy lives and die painless deaths, yet nothing could be further from the truth. This is reality TV with a clear message: if you care about animals, the environment or your health, then you need to kick your meat habit.’

The Meat Wagon will be travelling around the UK all summer, visiting more than 30 towns and cities over six weeks. People watching the film will be offered free Go Veggie and Vegan packs with information and recipes to help them get off the meat wagon for good. For more information see www.meatwagon.org.uk.